Toyota wins 2021 World Rally Championship for the fifth time
Sebastien Ogier, Julien Ingrassis claims 8th driver and co-driver championship
Toyota has a lot of reasons to celebrate this year.
Apart from winning the 24 Hour of Le Mans earlier this year, the automaker has now claimed the championship for a different motorsport event – the World Rally Championship (WRC). Yes, Toyota secured the manufacturers' title for the 2021 WRC season for the fifth time. Toyota drivers Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia claimed their eighth drivers' and co-driver’s title. They did it in style too, winning the last race of the event.
The road to Toyota's 2021 WRC manufacturer win wasn't easy. The automaker and their drivers had to constantly finish at the top in the 12 rounds for this season. Fortunately, Ogier and Ingrassia already had four prior victories before the last round – Monte Carlo, Croatia, Sardinia, and Kenya. The two went up against their teammates Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin in the final round, with Evans and Martin coming in second. As a result, Toyota managed to secure their fifth one-two finish of the season.
“Throughout the season, there was always at least one of our crews on the podium - including Takamoto. Thanks to them, I was able to watch all the events being thrilled expecting that somebody from our team would win,” said Toyota president Akio Toyoda.
Toyota's 2021 WRC win is the second since the team returned to the sport in 2017 with the Yaris WRC. However, this will be the last time the automaker will field the Yaris rally car in the event. Starting with the 2022 season, all WR competitors will change to the new hybrid-powered Rally1 cars.
“Our Yaris WRCs are running in such an exciting situation at the highest level of competition. It was like a dream for us at Toyota. I would like to thank both crews from the heart for making us feel like that,” added Toyoda.
Toyota has yet to reveal its 2022 WRC challenger, but with the rule changes will the automaker be able to defend the crown? We hope so.
